PHOTOS: Georgia captures Thrasher Cup despite loss

Saturday

Jan 19, 2013 at 9:05 PM

Noell Barnidge

Georgia Tech won the game. Georgia won the tournament.

The Yellow Jackets beat the Ice Dogs 3-1 on Saturday night, but Georgia won the 15th annual Savannah Tire Hockey Classic by a one-goal differential after Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida and Florida State finished in a four-way tie with one victory and one loss apiece.

"We wanted to beat Tech more than anything," said UGA coach John Hoos, whose Ice Dogs hoisted the Thrasher Cup for the sixth time overall and first time since 2007. "Our guys fought hard right down to the end."

Georgia Tech pulled its goaltender, CJ Layer, with 5 seconds left in the game for a faceoff on Georgia's end of the rink because the Yellow Jackets needed a goal to win the tournament by goal differential. Georgia Tech's move puzzled not only a Savannah Civic Center crowd of 5,331 but also Georgia's players.

"I had no idea what was going on. I was very confused," Georgia goaltender Vince Dicarlo said of Georgia Tech pulling its goaltender. "I thought I was going to get pulled earlier. It was very weird. I don't think any of us had any idea what was going on."

Georgia Tech, which has won the tournament seven times, was trying to win it for a third consecutive year. Florida State needed to beat Florida and have Georgia Tech beat Georgia for the Seminoles to win their second Thrasher Cup.

"Our goal was to win the game and that's what we accomplished," Georgia Tech coach Brian McSparron said. "After that, we can't control it. Our mission was just to win the game. We needed one goal. That's why we pulled the goalie at the end even though we were winning. We were trying to get that offense, get that one extra goal."

The game was scoreless after the first period.

Kenny McCrary gave Georgia Tech (11-11) a 1-0 lead with 10:43 left in the second period when he scored of an assist by Ryan Fritz and Mitchell Carr.

The Yellow Jackets' Brandon Gaudet scored off an assist by Michael Sandt and Brian Ritchey to make it 2-0 with 5:20 left.

Georgia (9-10) cut it to 2-1 with 29.4 seconds left on Kyle Blankenship goal off an assist by Peter Kacer and Stephen Bray.

The game was briefly delayed with 11:56 left in the third period to repair a glass panel that had come loose. Seconds after it was fixed, Georgia Tech's Fritz scored off Allen Mazzerole's assist to give the Yellow Jackets a 3-1 lead with 11:01 left.

"It's kind of bittersweet to win it like this," said Georgia's Dicarlo, a senior who was named Player of the Match with Georgia Tech's Fritz. "We, obviously, wanted to come out with a victory against a big rival but we'll take it."

The all-tournament team consisted of UGA's Dicarlo and Bray, Florida State's Steven O'Neil and Andrew Everly, Florida's Zachary Asa and Matt Girello, and Georgia Tech's Fritz, who won the Stathis Trophy as the tournament's most valuable player.